Ms. Marvel, Marvel Studios’ coming-of-age superhero action series premiered this past Wednesday, with warm reviews and great critical reception (96% on Rotten Tomatoes, along with Gamesradar calling it “a breath of fresh air). The show follows Kamala Khan, a Pakistani-American girl, as she tries to manage her life (primarily school and cultural expectations) while simultaneously being the superhero known as Ms. Marvel (inspired by Captain Marvel, and who will no doubt be in the MCU’s future Young Avengers project). It is a nice change of pace for Marvel television shows, and one that should be relatively successful.

Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel) first appeared in comics back in 2014 in her solo series, Ms. Marvel, under Marvel Comics Marvel Now! reboot. Written by the beloved scribe G. Willow Wilson, the original Ms. Marvel book ran for more than sixty issues; fleshing out Kamala as a character; her family and supporting cast, her morals and values, and her villains and rogues’ gallery. The book was a smashing success for Marvel, bringing Kamala to new heights akin to when Miles Morales (Spider-Man) debuted three years earlier in his solo series. With such a recent appearance, recent stories, and more, the lore of Ms. Marvel is still plenty fresh on many readers’ minds. With the show premiering, here are some Easter eggs from the comics that were in the first episode of the show.

The Inventor - Ms. Marvel’s First Big Villain

     Marvel Comics

In the opening scenes of the show, the audience is treated to a montage of cartoons, pictures, and more, narrated by Kamala Khan herself. One of those pictures that appears, is a drawing of none other than Kamala Khan’s first ever big villain: The Inventor. A clone of legendary scientist Thomas Edison, the Inventor is a large, bird-like creature (resembling a parrot of some sort) who terrorizes Kamala’s New Jersey town of Jersey City, kidnapping all sorts of people in order to power his devious inventions and machines. Ms. Marvel’s battle with the Inventor takes place over the first 11 issues of her original series, helping establish her as a true hero. It is also possible that the Inventor may appear in the show, as one of his henchmen has been cast and confirmed to appear in the show (Kamran - played by Matt Lintz, one of Kamala’s first romantic crushes).

A Sign Showcasing the Names of Kamala’s Creators

     Disney Platform Distribution

Another fun (and quickly appearing) Easter egg is a sign/plaque featured at the entrance of Kamala and crew’s school, Coles Academic High School. As Kamala makes her way into the building, a shot is focused on a plaque at the front entrance, which includes the names of all of Kamala Khan’s original creators. The sign includes artists: Adrian Alphana, Jamie McKelvie, Ian Herring, Nico Leon, Takeshi Miyazawa, and Joe Caramagna. It also includes writer G. Willow Wilson and editor Stephanie Wacker. The plaque is a nice little nod to those who helped build Ms. Marvel from the ground up.

Kamala Has a Poster of a Real-Life Captain Marvel Comic Book Cover

Throughout the episode, we get to see Kamala’s room and its colorful decorations, and a shrine to her favorite superhero, Captain Marvel. The biggest poster that hangs above her bed, is actually a real-life comic book cover from the 2013 Captain Marvel series, written by Kelly Sue DeConnick and drawn by Scott Hepburn. The cover in mention is issue #5 of the series, (shown above) drawn by cover artist Terry Dodson. While it seems this is the only noticeable cover in her room, the end credits of the first episode also contain a montage of comic book covers from the 2014 Ms. Marvel run, which are all nice nods of acknowledgement to the source material.

The Title is a Callback to Another Story Arc

As with television storylines, comic book storylines are also divided by arcs. Whether five issues or five episodes, each arc gets a name by producers or from fans for that specific story. For Ms. Marvel, the title for episode one is a callback to one of her first story arcs. The second overall volume of Ms. Marvel’s 2014 series was collected under the title of “Generation Why”, and for the show, the creators took inspiration from the arc, and entitled the first episode “Generation Why”. It’s a small, but significant, callback to the source material.

The Cosplay Contest

     Marvel Studios

In the latter half of the first episode, Kamala and Bruno sneak out to the first ever “Avenger Con” event, where Kamala participates in a Captain Marvel cosplay contest. In that contest, there were many people dressed in different Captain Marvel costumes, and a few of the costumes were lifted straight from Carol Danvers’ comics lore. Zoe Zimmer (the popular girl Kamala goes to school with) is dressed in the classic blue one-piece suit with the red and gold star, the sash, and the eye mask from Carol’s earlier days as Ms. Marvel. Zoe’s friend (who is unnamed), wears Carol’s suit from the animated series Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. Kamala, of course, had the suit from 2019’s Captain Marvel. There were a few more creative takes on the female, but the three listed as being the most significant.

New episodes of Ms. Marvel premiere on Wednesday’s on Disney+.